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  European Capital of Culture is one of the European Union’s most successful projects. The cities that earn this title benefit from its popularity and prestige, they profit from a growth in tourism and investment, and earn a permanent place on the cultural map of Europe. Each year the title of European Capital of Culture is awarded to two cities from two EU member states. In 2015 one Czech city and one Belgian city will hold this title.

On 25 March 2009 the mayor of the Statutory City of Ostrava, Petr Kajnar, officially announced that Ostrava would compete for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015. The head of the preparatory team is the film and television producer Čestmír Kopecký. In addition to Ostrava, other Czech cities that participated in the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 were Plzeň and Hradec Králové. In Belgium, the only candidate city is Mons.

During the pre-selection phase, Ostrava’s candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 was accompanied by a range of exceptional cultural events under the title Ostrava 2009. You can read more about those events here.

Ostrava’s application for the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 was delivered to the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic by the 30 Oct. 2009 deadline. A part of Ostrava’s application was an optional supplement titled The White Book of Ostrava Culture. You can learn more about the candidacy project in the chapter Ostrava 2015. You can view Ostrava’s application for the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 here.

On 8 Dec. 2009 a presentation of the projects of candidate cities took place at the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic before a thirteen-member panel of jurors, seven of whom were named by European institutions and six by the minister of culture of the Czech Republic. The commission decided that the cities of Ostrava and Plzeň would advance to the second selection round of the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015.

During the final selection phase, Ostrava is holding a series of events under the banner Ostrava 2010. You can learn more here.

Until 30 June 2010, both cities have time to amend their applications in accordance with the recommendations of the panel of jurors and to further elaborate their projects.

In September 2010 a delegation composed of members of the panel, representatives of the European Commission and representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic will visit the cities that advanced to the final selection round in order to personally assess their potential to hold the title of European Capital of Culture 2015. A final decision about the winner will be made after the second, final presentation of projects by the candidate cities on 8 Sept. 2010.